Camp Prayer Letter #7

Hello again from Ukraine!

Well, John just headed off to the airport with the team. They will be flying out of Odessa at 3 Pm our time which is the middle of the night for all of you! We are staying for one more day and will be back on Tuesday evening.

Our second camp week ended well and overall we thought that the camp ran very smooth for a first time camp! There were no hidden surprises and our team functioned so well together by being flexible and willing to step in at any moment to help someone else. We have had such a great trip and the Lord has done so much! Between the two camps we had between 130-140 students hear the Gospel. We made many new friendships with students and with our Ukrainian ministry partners. It is so amazing how God works through the barriers of language and culture. We truly feel like we made special bonds and poured our hearts out to those we came into contact with.

Thursday Pastor Alexander Gross, Andy Coyle (EEMN Missionary) and Ule Maggnus (Missionary) gave a presentation for the Bible school. The Bible school will open up in September and this will be the VERY FIRST lay ministry training center in Ukraine. We were able to hear of their vision for the Bible school , how we can come along side to be involved and how we can help support if we feel the Lord leading us. This will be a very special ministry to the Ukrainians and Russians.

On the first day of training on our trip we all answered, “Why did I come on this mission trip?” Now being at the end of our trip some of us can now see that God had other plans and things to reveal to each of us. Perhaps even realizing that when we thought we were coming to minister to the Ukrainians we were actually the ones who received the ministering. It was a great joy to be able to see all that God did in each team member.

Coming on a mission trip is something we would strongly encourage every Christian to do. Not only because we are called to fulfill the great commission through this but also because it is an excellent way to get out of your comfort zone, to see the world from someone else’s point of view and see first had God’s mighty hand at work. Thank you SO much to many of you who have bathed our group in prayer and to the many of you who have financially supported people to come on the trip. We could not have done this without you.

By His grace,

John & Nichole